PART 2: The Quenya Ban

Introduction:

Quenya is the language of the High Elves in Valinor, making it the native tongue of the Noldor who came to Middle Earth. However, when King Thingol of the Sindar heard of the kinslaying in Aqualondë against his brother’s people, he banned the language in Beleriand as retaliation. Whether or not this was a legitimate ban, many of the Noldor stopped speaking Quenya and the language was replaced by Sindarin Elvish (which had already existed in Middle Earth before the exiles arrived). By the Third Age, Quenya had become a dead language used for ceremonies and spoken almost exclusively by scholars. Let’s discuss!

Part 1: legitimacy, reasoning, and impact (prior post)

Part 2: perspective and world-building, concluding remarks, fun facts

1.) Perspective and world-building

The language ban is presented as acceptable in The Silmarillion, and the Quenya names of places and people that were never in Middle Earth are almost always translated to Sindarin anyway. For example, Arafinwë never left Valinor, and although his name was never actually changed, he’s still reffered to as “Finarfin”. This begs the question of whether or not the narrator is reliable, or rather, how much (in-universe) cultural influence is exerted over the way the story is told. Consider this: the way the kinslayings are depicted are as horrible acts of violence committed by the Noldor, but how are they any different from the Sindarin slaughters of the “petty dwarves” (before they killed Thingol), which are presented as mostly alright? Is it because Dwarves are not considered “human” in the same way that Elves are? Is that even true within the story, or is the narrator just saying that to present the Sindar as justified in their deeds? The Second Kinslaying, for example, was that really a Silmaril-focused aggression of the Fëanorians against a weakened Doriath, or was that actually a full blown war which the Sindar lost and decided to depict as a wild, mostly one-sided attack? We read the story through the perspective of biased in-world authors, leaving room for interpretation of what actually happened within the context of Arda. 

2.) Concluding remarks

The Noldor are presented as proud, aggressive imperialists who believe themselves to be superior to all others, BUT in (fictional) reality, they’re the ones being oppressed. Their language, one of the most prominent and important components of their culture, was banned. Their power was restricted by a foreign ruler who refused to join alliances. Their history was presented in a way completely different from how it probably actually happened. The Noldor certainly did a lot of things wrong, but they were also wronged themselves, and perhaps depicted unfairly by in-world authors. This adds another layer of complexity to Tolkien’s writing and world-building, lending to a more realistic style of narrative and allowing for more nuanced analysis of his legendarium’s history. 

3.) Fun Facts

• “Fëanor” is actually not the character’s name at all. His real name was “Fëanaro” in Quenya, for which the Sindarin name would be “Faenor”. So, “Fëanor” is actually a mix of the two languages. Furthermore, he was never actually called any variation of the name besides “Fëanaro” to his face, since he died long before the Noldor even met the Sindar. 

• Elrond (“star-dome/vault”) and Elros (“star-foam/spray”) are Sindarin names following the “El”/star naming custom of Elwë’s (Thingol’s) line. The names were assumably given to them by their mother, Elwing, possibly in prophetic reference to Elrond’s future as ruler of a guarded realm, and Elros’s future as the ruler of a sea realm. Interestingly, both names also have noted Quenya forms (Elerondo and Elerossë, respectively). These could have been given to them at birth by their father, Eärendil, who was Noldor and of Finwë’s line, or possibly later on when they were adopted by Maedhros and Maglor (or rather, Maitimo and Makalaurë). If the latter, they could have been given names with the exact same meaning twice. Before they knew the twins’s actual names, Maedhros and Maglor found them playing in the woods, where Elrond was in a cave (which is an enclosure) and Elros at a waterfall. “El” also has collections to the word for Elf, “Elda”. So in a twist of fate, they could have named Elrond Elerondo as in “elf of the cave” and Elros Elerossë as in “elf of the mist” without even knowing those were actually their real names.  

• J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Catholic and translated prayers including the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be into Quenya. So, it’s possible to say almost the entire rosary in Elvish. (Here’s where to find it https://www.teawithtolkien.com/blog/quenya-rosary)